Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a German fairy tale known across much of Europe and is today one of the most famous fairy tales worldwide. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection Grimms' Fairy Tales. It was titled in German: Sneewittchen (in modern orthography''Schneewittchen'') and numbered as Tale 53. The Grimms completed their final revision of the story in 1854.1 The fairy tale features such elements as the magic mirror, the poisoned apple, the glass coffin, and the characters of the evil queen and the seven dwarfs, who were first given individual names in the Broadway play Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1912) and then given different names in Walt Disney's 1937 film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The Grimm story, which is commonly referred to as "Snow White", should not be confused with the story of "Snow White and Rose Red" (in German "Schneeweißchen und Rosenrot"), another fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm.2 In the Aarne–Thompson folklore classification, tales of this kind are grouped together as type 709, Snow White. Others of this kind include "Bella Venezia", "Myrsina", "Nourie Hadig" and "Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree".3 Contents hide * 1 Plot * 2 Variations * 3 From other European traditions * 4 Modern uses and adaptations * 5 Trademark * 6 See also * 7 References * 8 Further reading * 9 External links Plot Once upon a time in midwinter, when the snowflakes were falling like feathers from heaven, in a far far away kingdom, there once lived a beautiful queen sat sewing at her window, which had a frame of black ebony wood. As she sewed, she looked up at the snow and pricked her finger with her needle. A drop of rosy red blood fell onto the snow on the window frame. The red on the snow-white snow looked so beautiful, that she thought, "If only I had a beautiful daughter whose skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood and hair as black as ebony." Soon afterward she had a beautiful baby girl whose skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood and hair as black as ebony wood, and therefore they called her Snow-White. But, sadly, however,the queen fell ill and soon after, she died. Soon, the king married again to a very, very beautiful but selfish and vain woman who became the new Queen and she only cared about her beauty. Now the queen was the most beautiful woman in all the land and she was very proud of her beauty. She had a mirror, which she stood in front of every morning, and asked: Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who in this land is fairest of all? And the mirror always said: You, my queen, are fairest of all. And then she knew for certain that no one in the world was more beautiful than she. When the king died in a war, the new queen began to hate Snow White. Now Snow-White grew up into a beautiful young lady and when she was eighteen years old, she was so beautiful that she surpassed even the queen herself. Now when the queen asked her mirror: Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who in this land is fairest of all? The mirror said: You, my queen, are fair; it is true. But Little Snow-White is still a thousand times fairer than you. When the queen heard the mirror say this, she became pale with envy, and from that hour on, she hated Snow-White. Whenever she looked at her, she thought that Snow-White was to blame that she was no longer the most beautiful woman in the world. This turned her heart around. Her jealousy gave her no peace. Finally she summoned a huntsman and said to him, "Take Snow-White out into the woods to a remote spot, and stab her to death. As proof that she is dead bring her lungs and liver back to me. I shall cook them with salt and eat them." The huntsman took Snow-White into the woods. When he took out his hunting knife to stab her, she began to cry, and begged fervently that he might spare her life, promising to run away into the woods and never return. The huntsman took pity on her because she was so beautiful, and he thought, "The wild animals will soon devour her anyway. I'm glad that I don't have to kill her." Just then a young boar came running by. He killed it, cut out its lungs and liver, and took them back to the queen as proof of Snow-White's death. She cooked them with salt and ate them, supposing that she had eaten Snow-White's lungs and liver. Snow-White was now all alone in the great forest. She was terribly afraid, and began to run. She ran over sharp stones and through thorns the entire day. Finally, just as the sun was about to set, she came to a little house. The house belonged to seven dwarfs. They were working in a mine, and not at home. Snow-White went inside and found everything to be small, but neat and orderly. There was a little table with seven little plates, seven little spoons, seven little knives and forks, seven little mugs, and against the wall there were seven little beds, all freshly made. Snow-White was hungry and thirsty, so she ate a few vegetables and a little bread from each little plate, and from each little glass she drank a drop of wine. Because she was so tired, she wanted to lie down and go to sleep. She tried each of the seven little beds, one after the other, but none felt right until she came to the seventh one, and she lay down in it and fell asleep. When night came, the seven dwarfs returned home from the work. They lit their seven little candles, and saw that someone had been in their house. The first one said, "Who has been sitting in my chair?" The second one, "Who has been eating from my plate?" The third one, "Who has been eating my bread?" The fourth one, "Who has been eating my vegetables?" The fifth one, "Who has been sticking with my fork?" The sixth one, "Who has been cutting with my knife?" The seventh one, "Who has been drinking from my mug?" Then the first one said, "Who stepped on my bed?" The second one, "And someone has been lying in my bed." And so forth until the seventh one, and when he looked at his bed, he found Snow-White lying there, fast asleep. The seven dwarfs all came running, and they cried out with amazement. They fetched their seven candles and looked at Snow-White. "Good heaven! Good heaven!" they cried. "She is so beautiful!" They liked her very much. They did not wake her up, but let her lie there in the bed. The seventh dwarf had to sleep with his companions, one hour with each one, and then the night was done. When Snow-White woke up, they asked her who she was and how she had found her way to their house. She told them how her mother had tried to kill her, how the huntsman had spared her life, how she had run the entire day, finally coming to their house. The dwarfs pitied her and said, "If you will keep house for us, and cook, sew, make beds, wash, and knit, and keep everything clean and orderly, then you can stay here, and you'll have everything that you want. We come home in the evening, and supper must be ready by then, but we spend the days digging for gold in the mine. You will be alone then. Watch out for the queen, and do not let anyone in." The queen thought that she was again the most beautiful woman in the land, and the next morning she stepped before the mirror and asked: Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who in this land is fairest of all? The mirror answered once again: You, my queen, are fair; it is true. But Little Snow-White, beyond the seven mountains, is a thousand times fairer than you. It startled the queen to hear this, and she knew that she had been deceived, that the huntsman had not killed Snow-White. Because only the seven dwarfs lived in the seven mountains, she knew at once that they must have rescued her. She began to plan immediately how she might kill her, because she would have no peace until the mirror once again said that she was the most beautiful woman in the land. At last she thought of something to do. She disguised herself as an old peddler woman, using black magic, so that no one would recognize her, and went to the dwarfs' house. Knocking on the door, she called out,"Open up. Open up. I'm an old peddler woman with beautiful laces, dresses, and ribbons for sale." Snow-White peered out the window, "What do you have?" "Bodice laces, beautiful girl," said the old woman, and held one up. It was braided from yellow, red, and blue silk. "Would you like this one?" "Oh, yes," said Snow-White, thinking, "I can let the old woman come in. She means well." She unbolted the door and bargained for the bodice laces. "You are not laced up properly," said the old woman. "Come here, I'll do it better." Snow-White stood before her, and she took hold of the laces and pulled them so tight that Snow-White could not breathe, and she fell down as if she were dead. Then the old woman was satisfied, and she went away. Nightfall soon came, and the seven dwarfs returned home. They were horrified to find their dear Snow-White lying on the ground as if she were dead. They lifted her up and saw that she was laced up too tightly. They cut the bodice laces in two, and then she could breathe, and she came back to life. "It must have been the queen who tried to kill you," they said. "Take care and do not let anyone in again." The queen asked her mirror: Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who in this land is fairest of all? The mirror answered once again: You, my queen, are fair; it is true. But Little Snow-White with the seven dwarfs is a thousand times fairer than you. She was so horrified that the blood all ran to her heart, because she knew that Snow-White had come back to life. Then for an entire day and a night she planned how she might catch her. She made a poisoned comb, disguised herself differently, and went out again. She knocked on the door, but Snow-White called out, "I am not allowed to let anyone in." Then she pulled out the comb, and when Snow-White saw how it glistened, and noted that the woman was a complete stranger, she opened the door, and bought the comb from her. "Come, let me comb your hair," said the peddler woman. She had barely stuck the comb into Snow-White's hair, before the girl fell down and was dead. "That will keep you lying there," said the queen. And she went home with a light heart. The dwarfs came home just in time. They saw what had happened and pulled the poisoned comb from her hair. Snow-White opened her eyes and came back to life. She promised the dwarfs not to let anyone in again. The queen stepped before her mirror: Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who in this land is fairest of all? The mirror answered: You, my queen, are fair; it is true. But Little Snow-White with the seven dwarfs is a thousand times fairer than you. When the queen heard this, she shook and trembled with anger, "Snow-White will die, if it costs me my life!" Then she went into her most secret room -- no one else was allowed inside -- and she made a poisoned, poisoned apple. From the outside it was red and beautiful, and anyone who saw it would want it. Then she disguised herself as a peasant woman, went to the dwarfs' house and knocked on the door. Snow-White peeked out and said, "I'm not allowed to let anyone in. The dwarfs have forbidden it most severely." "If you don't want to, I can't force you," said the peasant woman. "I am selling these apples, and I will give you one to taste." "No, I can't accept anything. The dwarfs don't want me to." "If you are afraid, then I will cut the apple in two and eat half of it. Here, you eat the half with the beautiful red cheek!" Now the apple had been so artfully made that only the red half was poisoned. When Snow-White saw that the peasant woman was eating part of the apple, her desire for it grew stronger, so she finally let the woman hand her the other half through the window. She bit into it, but she barely had the bite in her mouth when she fell to the ground dead. The queen was happy, went home, and asked her mirror: Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who in this land is fairest of all? And it answered: You, my queen, are fairest of all. "Now I'll have some peace," she said, "because once again I'm the most beautiful woman in the land. Snow-White will remain dead this time." That evening the dwarfs returned home from the mines. Snow-White was lying on the floor, and she was dead. They loosened her laces and looked in her hair for something poisonous, but nothing helped. They could not bring her back to life. They laid her on a bier, and all seven sat next to her and cried and cried for three days. They were going to bury her, but they saw that she remained fresh. She did not look at all like a dead girl and she was still a beautiful and fair maiden. They had a glass coffin made for her and they laid her inside, so that she could be seen easily. They wrote her name and her ancestry on it in gold letters, and one of them always stayed at home and kept watch over her. Snow-White lay there in the coffin a long, long time, and she did not decay. Her skin was still white as snow, her lips were still red as blood, and her hair was still black as ebony wood. She lay there in the glass coffin as if she were asleep. One day a handsome young prince came to the forest. There, in the forest, when he saw the beautiful princess Snow White lying in a deep sleep in a glass coffin, he was enchanted by her beauty. He read the golden inscription and saw that she was the daughter of a king. Then the Prince kissed Snow White and Snow White awoke from her enchanted sleep. Then the Prince took Snow White to his castle. Their wedding was set for the next day, and Snow-White's godless mother was invited as well. That morning she stepped before the mirror and said, "Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who in this land is fairest of all?" The mirror answered, "You, my queen, are fair; it is true. But the Prince's bride is a thousand times fairer than you." She was horrified to hear this, and so overtaken with fear that she could not say anything. Still, her jealousy drove her to go to the wedding and see the young queen. When she arrived she saw that it was Snow-White. Then they put a pair of red iron shoes into the fire until they glowed and she had to put them on and dance in them. Her feet were terribly burned, and she could not stop until she had danced herself to death. Snow White and the Prince lived happily ever after with the seven dwarfs. Variationsedit In their first edition, the Brothers Grimm published the version they had first collected, in which the villain of the piece is Snow White's jealous mother. In a version sent to another folklorist prior to the first edition, additionally, she does not order a servant to take her to the woods, but takes her there herself to gather flowers and abandons her; in the first edition, this task was transferred to a servant.5 It is believed that the change to a step-mother in later editions was to tone down the story for children.6 One version of Snow White is the 1937 American animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs by Walt Disney. Disney's variation of Snow White gave the dwarfs names and included a singing Snow White. Instead of her lungs and liver, as written in the original, the huntsman is asked by the queen to bring back Snow White’s heart. Snow White is much more mature (about 14). And she is discovered by the dwarfs after cleaning the house, not vandalizing it. Furthermore, in the Disney movie the evil queen tries only once to kill Snow White (by a poisoned apple) and fails. She then dies by falling down a cliff, after the dwarfs had chased her through the forest. In the original, the queen is forced to dance to death. In Snow White (1987), produced by Cannon Movie Tales, the Evil Queen, after being informed for the last time that Snow White is alive and the most fair, is consumed with rage and hurls an object at the mirror causing it to crack. As she travels to the wedding, the Evil Queen begins to age rapidly as the mirror continues to crack. By the time she reaches the wedding and bursts in, she is an old hag and is humiliated by the crowd. She leaves and, simultaneously with the mirror in her castle, disintegrates into a pile of dust while Snow White and the Prince are married. In the 2012 adaptation Snow White and the Huntsman, directed by Rupert Sanders, Snow White becomes a warrior in order to overthrow the queen, and the huntsman is presented as her mentor and possible love interest. Many later versions omit the Queen's attempted cannibalism, eating what she believed to be the lungs and liver of Snow White. This may be a reference to old Slavic mythology which includes tales of witches eating human hearts. From other European traditionsedit Many other variations of the story exist across and outside Europe. In some of these variations the dwarfs are robbers, while the magic mirror is a dialog with the sun or moon.[citation needed] In a version from Albania, collected by Johann Georg von Hahn,7 the main character lives with 40 dragons, and her sleep is caused by a ring. The beginning of the story has a twist, in that a teacher urges the heroine to kill her evil stepmother so that she would take her place. The origin of this tale is debated; it is likely no older than the Middle Ages. In fact, there are possibly two Albanian versions of Snow White: one in which her stepmother tries to kill her, and another in which her two jealous sisters try to kill her. "The Jealous Sisters" is another Albanian fairy tale. In both fairy tales the death is caused by a ring. * Bidasari is a Malay tale written around 1750 A.D which tells the story of a witch queen who ask her magic mirror about the prettiest lady in the kingdom. * In parallel to the stepmother's question of her magic mirror, the Indian epic poem Padmavat (1540) includes the line: "Who is more beautiful, I or Padmavati?, Queen Nagamati asks to her new parrot, and it gives a displeasing reply..."; * Nourie Hadag from Armenia was the daughter of a woman who asked the Moon, "Who is the most beautiful in the world?", and the response is always "Nourie Hadag". The mother plots to kill her daughter.89 * The story in Russian writer Alexander Pushkin's poem The Tale of the Dead Princess and the Seven Knights (1833) is similar to that of Snow White, with knights replacing dwarfs.10 Modern uses and adaptationsedit See also: Queen (Snow White) in derivative works Snow White as portrayed by Ginnifer Goodwin in the ABC series, Once Upon a Time * The story of Snow White is a popular theme for British pantomime. * In some productions of Stephen Sondheim's musical Into the Woods, Snow White appears as the illicit love interest of one of the princes. * Snow White is a major character in the comic book series Fables, by Bill Willingham and The Wolf Among Us. * The video game Banjo-Kazooie has a Snow White-like plot, with the witch Gruntilda acting as the Evil Queen and Tooty acting as Snow White. * 'Taeyeon's concept photo for Girls' Generation's third studio album The Boys was inspired by Snow White. * A 1916 silent film titled Snow White was made by Famous Players-Lasky and produced by Adolph Zukor and Daniel Frohman. Directed by J. Searle Dawley, it was adapted to the screen by Jessie Braham White from his play Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1912). The film starred Marguerite Clark as Snow White, Creighton Hale as Prince Florimond, and Dorothy Cumming as Queen Brangomar/Mary Jane. * The 1937 Disney film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is based on the fairy tale. * A West German "all new, all live" version, Schneewittchen und die sieben Zwerge, was released in 1955. The film was later dubbed in English and released in North America in 1965. * A 1984 Faerie Tale Theatre episode is based on the fairy tale and stars Vanessa Redgrave as the Evil Queen and Elizabeth McGovern as Snow White. * The 1987 Cannon Movie Tales film Snow White is based on the fairy tale and stars Diana Rigg as the Evil Queen and Nicola Stapleton and Sarah Patterson both as Snow White. * The 1997 film Snow White: A Tale of Terror is based on the fairy tale and stars Sam Neill as Snow White's father, Sigourney Weaver as the Evil Queen and Monica Keena as Snow White. * The 2000 miniseries The 10th Kingdom features Snow White as a major character. * The 2001 film Snow White: The Fairest of Them All is based on the fairy tale and stars Kristin Kreuk as Snow White and Miranda Richardson as the Evil Queen Elspeth. * The 2005 film The Brothers Grimm features a character called the Mirror Queen, who is based on the Evil Queen from Snow White. * The 2011 TV series Once Upon A Time features Snow White, Prince Charming, and the Evil Queen as the main characters. Recurring characters include the Huntsman and the Magic Mirror, who is simultaneously the Genie of Agrabah from the fairy tale Aladdin. * The 2012 film Snow White and the Huntsman is based on the fairy tale and stars Kristen Stewart as Snow White, Charlize Theron as the Wicked Queen Ravenna, Chris Hemsworth as Eric the Huntsman, and Sam Claflin as Prince William.11 * The 2012 film Mirror Mirror is based on the fairy tale.12 It stars Julia Roberts as the Evil Queen Clementianna,13 Lily Collins as Snow White, Armie Hammer as Prince Andrew Alcott, and Nathan Lane as Brighton, the Queen's majordomo.14 * The 2012 silent, Spanish film "Blancanieves" is based on the fairy tale. * The 2012 film Grimm's Snow White is based on the fairy tale. * The 2013 anime RWBY features a character called Weiss Schnee, who is based on Snow White, as she is descended from royalty and her name is German for "White Snow". * The 2013 video game The Wolf Among Us by Telltale Games features Snow White as a woman in New York city who takes on the role of deputy mayor, and is in charge of governing Fabletown. Trademarkedit In 2013, the US Patent and Trademark Office issued a trademark to Disney Enterprises, Inc. for the name "Snow White" that covers all live and recorded movie, television, radio, stage, computer, Internet, news, and photographic entertainment uses, excluding literary works of fiction and nonfiction. Category:Princess Stories Category:Stories for Girls